Peanut Butter Cup Blossoms.

Back from Mexico today. Sigh. What an incredible trip! We went for Kristen and Seth’s wedding. I was lucky enough to be Kristen’s bridesmaid; she had us all wearing these beautiful red dresses (the red color is called “apple”) and gave us matching red flip flops for the reception. Lots of great food, tons of margaritas, laughs, pool time, beach time, and 100 degree heat.

Back from vacation means back to reality, back to the gym, and back to eating healthy. B-O-R-I-N-G.

So, let’s put all that nonsense aside for at least 1 more day and stuff our faces with soft and puffy peanut butter cookies. Complete with a gooey peanut butter cup on top. In both regular chocolate and white chocolate.

Have you tried my go-to peanut butter cookie recipe yet? Soft, thick, ultra chewy cookies exploding with peanut butter flavor. They’re the most peanutbutteriest cookies I’ve ever tasted (technical terms here, of course). In fact, a couple readers have even told me that the cookies taste like the soft peanut butter inside of a peanut butter cup. Now how good does that sound?!

Today’s cookies are my personal take on a traditional peanut butter blossom cookie, which are typically made with Hershey’s Kisses. I simply used peanut butter cups instead. Whenever there’s an opportunity for more peanut butter, just say yes.

They’re a snap to make! Simply mix up the peanut butter cookie dough, chill for about 1 hour, and roll into balls. I like to roll the cookie dough balls into a little granulated sugar. This gives them a little sparkle. It’s completely optional, though.

Bake the cookies for only about 8-9 minutes. The trick to their softness is slightly underbaking, so make sure you don’t keep them in the oven for too long. The cookies will be very puffy and soft-looking. That’s normal!

Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes, then press a peanut butter cup on top. I used both regular milk chocolate peanut butter cups and white chocolate peanut butter cups. If you can’t find white chocolate, no worries – just use regular. You could even try these with dark chocolate peanut butter cups if you can get your hands on them. Sometimes those are hard to find.

Quickly transfer the cookies to a paper plate or other freezer-friendly plate and freeze for about 10 minutes or until the peanut butter cup has set. Some of my peanut butter cups melted a bit into the cookies, which is completely fine. They still taste just as good.

I love how thick these cookies are! If you have any of these addicting little cookies left by day 3, you’ll be pleasantly surprised that they still remain just as soft. In fact, these cookies get softer as the days go by! They completely defy cookie science. And I love it.

If you love peanut butter as much as I do, you have to make these cookies. If you have a peanut butter lover in your life, you have to make these cookies. If you have any tastebuds at all, you have to make these cookies. Case closed.

Directions:

Toss the flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl until combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together on medium speed until combined. On low speed, beat in the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla. Turn the mixer to high and beat until light in color and smooth. Turn the mixer to low and slowly pour in the dry ingredients. Mix until combined and a dough is formed.

Cover tightly and chill the cookie dough for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory or else your cookies will spread.

Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Roll the cookie dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough each. Pour 1/4 cup granulated sugar into small bowl and roll each cookie dough ball in it - if desired. I like how the extra sugar makes the cookies look, but it's completely optional.

Bake cookies, 10 cookies on each sheet, for 8-9 minutes or until very lightly browned on the sides. The cookies will appear very soft and undone, but trust me - they are. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Working quickly, press 1 peanut butter cup into the center of each cookie. Quickly transfer the cookies to a freezer-safe dish (I used a paper plate) and freeze for 10-15 minutes or until the peanut butter cup has set. Some of the peanut butter cups will melt slightly - that's ok.

Make ahead tip: Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 10 days. You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow to come to room temperature and continue with step 4. Baked cookies freeze well - up to three months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well - up to three months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw.

Additional Notes:

Room temperature egg is required for the cookies. General rule of thumb I use for my own cookie recipes: when using warm or room temperature butter, I always use room temperature egg as well. To bring egg to room temperature quickly, simply place in a cup of warm water for 5 minutes.

Thick, store-bought peanut butter is preferred. If using natural style, make sure the peanut butter is thick and not oily in the slightest - which will make your cookie dough thin, slippery, and spread all over the baking sheet even after chilling the cookie dough. You need thick, non-oily peanut butter like Jif or Skippy.

Hooray! We have been fighting with these cookies for years now. The original recipe my grandmother used got so flat that they just looked silly…though tasted great. Then we found another recipe that was part vegetable shortening. Those were nice and puffy but the taste was lacking without all butter. We were ready to give up this year since they either tasted meh or looked completely silly (and have been making them for years). So this year, I saw this recipe pop up on my Pinterest feed and thought, “Sally won’t fail me!” And she certainly did not. So nice and puffy, so peanut buttery…just perfect. I may have underbaked them by a minute or two too much 😉 but they are great! And the whole family agrees. Thanks, Sally!

Sally, Your Peanut Butter Cup Blossoms are the second cookie recipe my daughter and I made tonight and they are also AMAZING! (Breakfast Cookie being the !st recipe) Thank you so much for your yummy, easy to follow recipes. I have learned so many things with your helpful hints throughout your website that I’m happy to be able to pass on to my girls. Making memories in the kitchen with my daughters, priceless!

OK so I have a problem with these cookies. I am one of those rare people who does not really like peanut butter or peanut butter cookies. Nonetheless, at holiday time, I usually make those PB cookies with the Hershey’s kisses for my peanut butter loving family and I always get the peanut butter cookies for them when the Girl Scouts come around. I do love cookies (a little too much) so the one thing I like about PB cookies is that I won’t eat them. However, since I’ve made your PB Cup Blossoms, MY FAMILY DOESN’T WANT ME TO MAKE ANY OTHER KIND OF COOKIE. I’ve made some of your other cookies and they loved them but these are their absolute favorites.